United States Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT'S WINNEMUCCA DISTRICT AND SURPRISE RESOURCE AREA, NORTHWEST NEVADA AND NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA An Interim Project Status Report by Jeff L. Doebrich \ George V. Albino 2, Charles E. Barker 3, Wendell A. Duffield 4, Victor C. Dunn s, Willam F. Hanna 6, Joseph P. McFarlan 7, Dawn J. McGuire 8, Michael S. Miller 9, Stephen G. Peters \ Donald Plouff 10, Gary L. Raines \ Don L. Sawatzky1, and Gregory T. Spanski " United States Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-712 This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North America Stratigraphic Code. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. 1994 'USGS, MS 176, Reno Field Office, Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557-0047 2U.S. Geological Survey, Unit 62101, APO AE 09811-2101 3USGS, MS 971, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 4USGS, Bldg. 3, 2255 North Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, AZ 86001-1698 5Bureau of Land Management, 705 E. 4th St., Winnemucca, NV 89445 6USGS, National Center, MS 927, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 22092-0001 7Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 460, Cedarville, CA 96104 8USGS, MS 973, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 'Western Field Operations Center, U.S. Bureau of Mines, E. 360 Third Ave., Spokane, WA 99202 10USGS, MS 989, Bldg. 2, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025-3591 "USGS, MS 937, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 3 Location of Project Area and Land Management Issues .......................... 3 Objectives ............................................................. 3 Strategy ............................................................... 4 Previous Assessments and Concurrent Projects ................................ 4 Aknowledgments ........................................................ 5 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND WORK PLANS ...................................... 6 Assessment for Metallic Mineral Resources ................................... 6 Assessment for Non-Metallic Mineral Resources ............................... 8 Assessment for Geothermal Resources ....................................... 9 Assessment for Oil and Gas Resources ...................................... 10 Supporting Databases.................................................... 12 Digital Data Bases ................................................ 12 Geology ........................................................ 13 Geochemistry .................................................... 15 Geophysics ...................................................... 16 Hydrothermal Alteration ........................................... 20 Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) ............................... 20 Final Product .......................................................... 20 REFERENCES CITED ........................................................ 21 APPENDIX 1. Suggested Guidelines for Mineral Resource Studies on Public Lands...........................42 2. Participant List for Winnemucca-Surprise Resource Assessment Project......................47 3. Descriptive Models for Metallic Mineral Deposit Types...............................................50 4. Proposed Outline/Table of Contents for Final Product of Resource Assessment............................................................................................................96 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM), is conducting a resource assessment of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Winnemucca District and Surprise Resource Area, an area covering 13.5 million acres in northwest Nevada and northeast California. This resource assessment will assist the BLM in meeting inventory and evaluation, resource-management planning, and other management requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). Land management issues that could impact or could be impacted by resource development in the project area include the presence of threatened and endangered species (for example, the Lahontan Cutthroat trout, raptor habitats, and the Desert Dace fish), the withdrawal of public lands from mineral entry (for example, the proposed 1.2 million acre High Rock/Black Rock National Conservation Area), and the impact of mine dewatering on drainage basin groundwater resources (for example, the Humboldt River drainage basin). Primary objectives of this assessment include 1) identifying areas in which significant deposits of mineral, oil and gas, and geothermal resources may be present, and 2) providing probabilistic estimates of the number of undiscovered mineral deposits and the quantity of metal contained in those undiscovered deposits. The latter information will be used by the BLM, after economic analysis by the USBM, in their construction of Reasonable and Foreseeable Development scenarios as part of their Resource Management Plan for the District/Resource Area or for other planning units such as drainage basins or identified ecosytems. The assessment is being conducted in two stages. The compilation and synthesis of existing data pertinent to conducting a resource assessment (stage I) has resulted in the identification of data and (or) knowledge deficiencies that are guiding stage II field studies. This report describes stage I accomplishments, documents data and knowledge deficiencies identified during stage I compilations, outlines stage II work plans, and presents preliminary interpretations of data. Though it is unrealistic that all identified data and knowledge deficiencies will be addressed in the time frame of this project, this will serve as a record for those who follow to address in future assessments. An assessment for non-fuel mineral resources is being conducted both qualitatively and quantitatively. This includes metallic mineral resources, industrial rock and mineral resources, and sand and gravel resources. Qualitative assessment consists of preparation of mineral potential tract maps that outline the likelihood of occurrence of specific mineral deposits types at three levels of potential (low/permissive, moderate/favorable, high/prospective). Preliminary 1:250,000 scale working copies of mineral potential tract maps have been prepared for the project area. Stage II activities include field studies to define geologic and structural features controlling mineral deposit distributions and examinations of poorly characterized or controversial mineral occurrences to ensure proper deposit classification. A quantitative assessment for metallic mineral resources (and some industrial mineral resources) will result in a probabilistic estimation of the number of undiscovered mineral deposits (by deposit type) and the quantity of metal contained in them. An assessment for fuel resources includes assessments for geothermal and oil and gas resources. Several recently constructed geothermal power plants are within and very near the project area. The Great Basin is currently the principal domestic target area for commercial 1 exploration and this assessment will aid in identifying new sites with potential to generate electricity. Geothermal resources appropriate for non-electric applications also are fairly abundant in the project area, and some of these resources are already developed (e.g., alfalfa drying at Gerlach, onion drying at Nightingale). The USGS has completed three national geothermal-resource assessments during the past two decades. The general methodology and much of the data base used for those assessments will be employed for the project area. Stage I activities have included working with personnel of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology who are currently reassessing geothermal resources for the entire state. Stage II studies, and future assessments, should focus on improving our understanding of subsurface hydrology, both locally and regionally. Oil and gas assessment of the project area is being conducted as part of the 1995 National Petroleum Assessment. Stage I activities have included compilation of all existing data on known hydrocarbon plays in the area and the identification and description of speculative or conceptual oil and gas plays. Conceptual plays are of three types: 1) Permian- Triassic source rocks, 2) Cretaceous source rocks , and 3) Neogene source rocks. Stage II studies and any future oil and gas assessment in the WSRA project area should include: 1) documentation of the origin of and natural gases by isotopic analysis; 2) determination of the extent of Triassic source rocks in west central Nevada; and, 3) better documentation of depth of fill, potential traps, and areal extent of source rocks in the Late Cenozoic basins. Supporting data bases are a critical component of any assessment, without which the assessments could not be conducted. Because the BLM is working toward automation of resource management planning, all spatial data pertinent to conducting a resource assessment of the project area are being compiled and archived in digital form in an Arc/Info GIS. Supporting data bases include geology, geochemistry, geophysyics, hydrothermal alteration, and mineral locality data (MRDS, MILS,